Updated TV Antenna Thoughts

[Oldpath05]

I changed a 6' coax cable on my antenna, from preamp to a new balun because I couldn't get the new boot over the F connector. Since I already have several feet of older coax, I'll just get some new F connectors and for the heck of it the tools to put new Betts Snap-N-Seal on, so first I look for how to use these tools on youtube and the next thing I know is, QUAD SHIELD RG6, so now I guess coax is not coax, got to have the all new improved quad shield to cut down interference and get better reception.

Why does things always have to change, they've must of been making coax cable now for 30+ years, takes this long to make the right cable...........Just thinking out loud whether or not to change all my 100+ ft of coax cable to the state of the art quad shield, just so they can come out with something better in another 5 years.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Interesting that Fox is your most difficult to pick up. When I tested the first time I did not get my Fox6 Birmingham, and no Fox20 Montgomery. I had to aim the antenna just right to get it. Still have issues with PBS, which is ok.
Now I have my antenna in its final location, aim it just right and I have Fox6 Bham, NBC Bham, CBS from Bham and Montgomery, and three ABCs. Plus the other channels that go along with them, and PBS seems ok in new location.
Why did I use this location? Because this is where there was a splice in the Direct TV cable run into the house. I checked and they ran RG6 all the way so this saved my having to purchase cable and make the crazy run into the house. I am a happy camper now

You have quite the antenna there lakngulf.

You didn't mention the type of installation you have or the antenna model or type. If you bought one of those flat wave antennas, they are notoriously poor for VHF reception in any type of fringe setting. If you bought a small Yagi style, (RCA-ANT751) that should work, but they don't have a lot of gain. KTBC in Austin doesn't broadcast with a lot of power which makes things worse.

I have this one , but I tried to mount it about 8" below the uhf small antenna (didn't want to mess up what I already had working). Would the proximity have messed things up?

Amazon.com: RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna with 7 Mile Range: Electronics

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Since i trimmed a tree and broke my antenna, I just bought the wineguard fl6550a, supposed to have 60+ mile range. Came today but didnt try it yet.

 

[lakngulf]

Since i trimmed a tree and broke my antenna, I just bought the wineguard fl6550a, supposed to have 60+ mile range. Came today but didnt try it yet.

Good luck with it

 

[vvanders]

You have quite the antenna there lakngulf.


I have this one , but I tried to mount it about 8" below the uhf small antenna (didn't want to mess up what I already had working). Would the proximity have messed things up?

Amazon.com: RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna with 7 Mile Range: Electronics

Hard to beat a good Yagi.

Generally you want to mount things 1/2 wavelength away from each other(VHF is ~2 meters, UHF is 70cm) so 3.5ft distance should be just fine. You can mount closer, it's just less ideal.

 

[vvanders]

Since i trimmed a tree and broke my antenna, I just bought the wineguard fl6550a, supposed to have 60+ mile range. Came today but didnt try it yet.

Keep in mind that distance is going to depend on if you have a clear line of sight and how high up you can get that antenna. I've seen VHF on the amateur radio side do 80+ miles but that's with repeaters that are up on some pretty high mountains.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I changed a 6' coax cable on my antenna, from preamp to a new balun because I couldn't get the new boot over the F connector. Since I already have several feet of older coax, I'll just get some new F connectors and for the heck of it the tools to put new Betts Snap-N-Seal on, so first I look for how to use these tools on youtube and the next thing I know is, QUAD SHIELD RG6, so now I guess coax is not coax, got to have the all new improved quad shield to cut down interference and get better reception.

Why does things always have to change, they've must of been making coax cable now for 30+ years, takes this long to make the right cable...........Just thinking out loud whether or not to change all my 100+ ft of coax cable to the state of the art quad shield, just so they can come out with something better in another 5 years.

Quad shield is not new? I’ve been using it for years.

 

[bunyip]

We found that with the advent of digital TV the system became more susceptible to interference from such things as motors turning on and off (refrigerator/freezer) and other switches being operated, resulted in a brief but annoying period of pixelation, we changed our dual shield to quad and the problem went away.
Screw and saddle in line fittings also had to go and be replaced with F connect.
A compromise is tri shield, marginally cheaper.
You can still buy that horrible RG59 airspace single shield here but why would you.
As stated though, if your system is working fine it doesn't need fixing.
I haven't been to USA for a few years (used to be a regular visitor to NY, Boston and DEnver) so I'm not sure where you stand with digital but we switched over ten years ago.

 

[tcreeley]

Since digital we have not had TV reception. I gave up trying to figure it out. I hate to spend money without being certain. I don't want another monthly bill, so cable and satellite are out.

 

[lakngulf]

Ok, my next step is to make the mast pipe more rigid. It is strapped well to the telephone pole, but does move a bit with the wind. There is a particular angle that brings in some stations better. What can I do to hold it steady? I had trouble trying to drill a hole thru the pipe, or a bolt thru pipe and pole would work. Any ideas?

 

[Oldpath05]

Heres what I change and used>> Your eBay Shopping Cart

This is the 3rd balun I tried, the other two I had, one of them hardly brought in channels, the next one I tried was at 30% according to my TV's signal indicator, then when I put this more pricy CM balun one on, the signal indicator went to around 70%, but now I'm not sure if it was the balun or the new F connectors, or both. Anyone else have different signal strengths on different Balun brands?

I liked how easy these snap seal coax connectors went on and stay on, course I had to do it twice, forgot to put the balun boot on so had to cut one connector off and use another one.

 

[Oldpath05]

Since digital we have not had TV reception. I gave up trying to figure it out. I hate to spend money without being certain. I don't want another monthly bill, so cable and satellite are out.

I know what you mean, the digital signals sure is finicky, everything has to hooked just right, so much so that I'm thinking of trying to find someone that know this antenna stuff and see what can be done to get more of a reliable signal. I remember the day from just a couple coat hangers and get tv signals.

 

[Oldpath05]

Ok, my next step is to make the mast pipe more rigid. It is strapped well to the telephone pole, but does move a bit with the wind. There is a particular angle that brings in some stations better. What can I do to hold it steady? I had trouble trying to drill a hole thru the pipe, or a bolt thru pipe and pole would work. Any ideas?

Pipe shouldn't be that hard to drill through, but maybe an oversized specially made muffler pipe stile clamp would would work, or you might find some sort of heavy duty clamp on the web somewhere.

 

[bunyip]

Couple of stays to the eaves

 

[KubotainNH]

Is the issue that the metal pole moves on the wooden pole because of the slack in the bands? If so, buy a couple cheap muffler clamps that are the right size and bolt it to a piece of metal that you can lag into the wood. Cheap and easy. Something like below which you can buy if you want but I'd rather pay $4 and have my setup be stronger.

Antenna Pole Mounting Assembly (91117)

 

[sixdogs]

All of this is daunting to me and I get more confused rather than less confused. We will soon drop our satellite TV and are going with an internet provider and then an indoor antennae for local channels. A woman nearby uses a Terk flat indoor antennae and it works fine. Since I need to buy something soon, I need simple advice on what has worked from inside. Outside won't work for us and I don't have the experience of knowing what works.

I'd like to buy off of Crutchfield and then woud have a no hassle return if needed.

This is a link to their antennas and any advice appreciated.
TV Antennas at Crutchfield.com

 

[Oldpath05]

Are you refuring to this one>>>> Terk Omni Tower Amplified multi-directional TV antenna at Crutchfield.com <<<<I never seen anything like that.

 

[sseelhoff]

Are you refuring to this one>>>> Terk Omni Tower Amplified multi-directional TV antenna at Crutchfield.com <<<<I never seen anything like that.

Any idea on the range? The crutchfield page doesn't show it.

 

[sixdogs]

Are you refuring to this one>>>> Terk Omni Tower Amplified multi-directional TV antenna at Crutchfield.com <<<<I never seen anything like that.

The Terk my neighbor has is flat. Crutchfield doesn't carry it but maybe someone here will have had a favorable experience with one of the other brands listed.

 

[sixdogs]

Any idea on the range? The crutchfield page doesn't show it.

I have no idea and wouldn't know if was right in front of me. Last I used an indoor antennae was rabbit ears with aluminum foil on the ends.